Buckwheat Flour and Almond Scones

Isn’t this? Yes, it’s this and also kind of thisdepends on which you see first. But this time we’ve spared no expense and are using ground blanched almonds. A quick run down on how to blanch almond. Pour water from a kettle that is almost boiled into a bowl, jug whatever, of almonds, rest for 3 minutes and drain and then rinse with cool water. Then squeeze each almond, the most boring thing possible, until the skin comes off. Repeat ad naseum. Then pop them in the freezer for a few minutes and grind in a coffee grinder or food processor. The freezing stops them becoming butter, skip it if you want, but be weary of overworking. Mine were coarse, ground, but still somewhat lumpy rather than fine. You might be able to skip all that and just use ground almonds, I’m not sure and I can only list what I used myself. The almonds I’m using are so cheap compared to what I used to pay, so the extra work isn’t a problem for me. Okay, let’s hope that made sense.

They gain a golden hue from rich egg yolks and the almonds.

So, why you ask. What you query. Exhales: I was curious on the effects of almonds on the original recipe, that if you don’t already know is very dry, so I thought why not? I accidentally omitted the sugar too and it really didn’t need it, the almonds bring their own sweetness. The dough became oily, perhaps due to the nuts natural oils. Other than that it was mostly the same to prepare. I had to form a dry dough and add milk to that until it came together. Which is strange, adding a liquid to a dough rather than to crumbs awaiting their chance to become dough. It absorbed and then the dough came together properly. Oily sure, but firm. I then baked them the usual way, they did bake faster than usual, I’d say it was all the oil, you could see it bubbling on the scones, though they weren’t oily to taste. The taste was sweet as I’ve said, much nicer than all buckwheat. They were somewhat lighter, though not that noticeably. They’re still prone to breaking, you’re not getting the traditional twist in half scones here, but they are an improvement on the original.

Dense, but not heavy. If that makes sense.

So why the split? Why not list it as a variation? I found them different enough, they come together differently and bake faster. They’re also better in my opinion. I may try to get these lighter and less brittle. Though I can’t say how I could accomplish that yet. I’ve found buckwheat and almond to be a winning combination in the past and it holds true here. They come together fast and make for a handy snack, a rather filling snack admittedly. You could make these savoury too I imagine. Sweeter as well if you’d prefer. If you have to blanch your own almonds then this will be time consuming. Worth it occasionally if you ask me. You know, I do wonder if I undersell these recipes with my slightly dry delivery. I’d like to be bubbly and vivacious, like so many bloggers out there, perhaps more interesting and engaging. I don’t know. I’ll stick with: Here’s the recipe, go make it or whatever, for now. I must be tired, just ignore my complaints and go make some scones. Until next time. Thank you for your continued support.

1. Preheat oven to 200c (Fan) and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.

2. Add all the dry ingredients to a bowl and then stir in the Olive Oil with a fork until combined, then mix in the Egg until everything has mixed together and a crumbly oily dough has formed. Finally add in the Milk, a little at a time, until the dough starts to come together and stops crumbling. Knead as necessary. Dough should be firm and oily. Form into a ball.

3. Dust a work surface lightly with flour and either press the dough flat, about an inch thickness, and cut into wedges or roll out and cut into rounds using a cutter. Then place onto the prepared tray.

4. Bake for 8-10 minutes until scones are firm and a light gold colour. Transfer to a wire-rack and let cool. Best eaten warm and on day of baking.

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